Higher Ed Standstill

Students on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Students on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

Heading into the regular session, conservative business leaders like Woody Hunt and Bill Hammond were leading the charge for higher education reform. Their proposals for getting more graduates in the state included funding for colleges and universities tied to graduation rates instead of enrollments, a distribution method for financial aid that favored high-achieving needy students. (They ultimately got the latter, but not the former).

By the end of the session, as focus turned away from the Legislature and toward a set of "seven breakthrough solutions" for higher ed promoted by Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the debate had changed dramatically. It became more focused on the roles of research and teaching and finding a dollars-and-cents measurement for the productivity of individual faculty members.

That is the path the debate remains on to this day, but the Hammonds and Hunts have not been heard from very much. "Our focus is on completions. That's what matters," Hammond said. "I think some of the debate is misdirected. The issue should be: Are we getting enough kids walking across the stage at the end of the day?"

A retread of the "seven solutions" played out over the past week seemed to illustrate the intractable nature of the current fight.

Randy Diehl, dean of the University of Texas' College of Liberal Arts, released a response to the solutions, which were written by Jeff Sandefer, an Austin businessman and founder of the private Acton School of Business. Diehl's conclusion: "Put simply, this is the wrong approach."

Diehl concluded that the "solutions" were either redundant (such as requiring evidence of teaching skill for tenure) or out of step (as in the case of separating teaching and research budgets) with UT's goals and ongoing initiatives, like its ongoing course redesign project. He asserted that based on graduation rates compared to tuition — as opposed to professor salaries and class sizes, as reports circulated by proponents of the "solutions" have measured — UT is an efficiently run institution.

Diehl's analysis also found that in the few places where elements of the solutions had been implemented, they had not succeeded. In fact, on the same day Diehl's report came out, negative feedback and a lack of resources led the Texas A&M University System to ax a program modeled on one of the solutions that doled out cash prizes to professors based solely on student evaluations.

The report was quickly derided by conservative blogger Michael Quinn Sullivan, who said in a statement, "It's interesting that while the College of Liberal Arts says they 'disagree' with the reforms presented, they actually don't suggest any substantive ways to improve transparency, affordability and accessibility."

Perry spokesman Mark Miner took a similar tone, saying, "Resisting reform and accountability is an unsustainable recipe for mediocrity and stagnation."

In response to their response (a phrase that illustrates the productiveness of the current discussion), the Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education, a band of influential Texans who oppose the "solutions" (and, in many cases, the governor) said, "By choosing to discount a scientific and research-based analysis of proposals that threaten to undermine the quality of higher education in Texas, the Governor's spokesman creates the impression that his efforts are about scoring political points rather than improving higher education."

After months of back and forth, it is clear that UT — though Diehl, like UT President Bill Powers, says he welcomes and will seriously consider suggestions for improving the university —will not willingly accept the "seven solutions," which are the proposals put forward by these conservative outside groups.

Simultaneously, those groups — even though representatives for both the TPPF and Perry say they are open to other suggestions — do not appear inclined to accept the creation of a task force to increase graduation rates (as UT formed this week) or any ongoing productivity-boosting initiatives administrators might point to as a suggestion for lowering the cost of public higher education (which has gone up 86 percent in the last decade).

So, for now, it's a standoff — one that Hammond worries the Legislature's new Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency might contribute to. He said he'd try to turn the debate by urging the committee, which was formed with an eye on the role of university system regents and has not yet scheduled a hearing, to worry less about the "seven solutions" and focus on making sure universities are improving completion rates.

"I don't think it's the appropriate role of the Legislature to manage inputs," he said. "But I do think it's their role to hold the systems accountable for the outputs, as in the graduates."

And Then There Were Taxes

Texas teachers from Save Texas Schools crowd the hallway outside the House chamber protesting budget cuts on Saturday, May 21, 2011.
Texas teachers from Save Texas Schools crowd the hallway outside the House chamber protesting budget cuts on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

A week has passed since school districts bracing for the worst at last got what they've been waiting for throughout the legislative session: finality.

With the finance plan doling out the $4 billion reduction in state funding to schools firmly in place, they are now turning to the difficult work of finalizing their own budgets. In most instances, districts have already made cuts to programs and personnel for the upcoming school year, so that means looking at ways to find additional revenue. And that means dipping into fund balances, the school district equivalent of a Rainy Day Fund — or raising local property taxes.

The timeline for tax hike proposals varies by district, depending on when their school boards meet. For many, the announcement will come during their July and August meetings. Most of the state's biggest districts have refused to rule out the possibility of tax increases to combat reduced state funding. But some, like Houston ISD, which has the largest enrollment in the state, have ended up cutting more than they needed to.

According to a presentation at the latest school board meeting, HISD has $22 million left over after laying off 730 employees prior to the final numbers from the Legislature. In Dallas ISD, the state's second-largest district, a property tax increase to fund day-to-day operations is unlikely because the school board has already approved raising another local property tax to help pay off a facilities bond.

Keller ISD, a district of about 30,000 students in suburban Fort Worth, is the largest of the handful of districts across the state that have already attempted to levy higher taxes. The 13-cent increase failed at the polls in June, with 56 percent of residents voting against it.

Even if they had a shot at success, for some schools, raising local taxes to make up for a loss in state aid isn't even an option. According to data from the Equity Center, a school finance lobbying and research organization, about 20 percent of districts are already taxing at their maximum rate. And in "Robin Hood" districts, where local tax revenue is subject to recapture by the state, school boards usually view any tax increases as a political third rail.

I.D. Overreach?

The idea was to rein in the amount of unauthorized immigrants with IDs or driver's licenses. But steps lawmakers took in that direction have some concerned they cast too wide a net.

Requiring applicants for IDs or driver's licenses prove legal residency has been de facto policy at the Department of Public Safety since 2008, when the agency adopted the change without legislative authority. That drew a lawsuit from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, an advocacy group that alleged DPS didn't have the right to circumvent the Legislature.

That may be an empty lawsuit now after an amendment by House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, put the policy into law. But it also means that millions of Texans who are up for renewal may be forced to show passports or birth certificates when they go to the DPS. That includes those who renewed online. DPS requires that a person renew in person every 12 years, so citizens who haven't produced a birth certificate in years or have no need for a passport may be forced to dig through old boxes, visit their county registrars or even reapply for a driver's license if the policy, which some say was enforced lightly after 2008, becomes law.

The amendment is the exact language that was introduced in Senate Bill 9, an omnibus piece of legislation authored by Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. That bill died, but Williams said he was still able to procure about $64 million in general revenue to create and staff DPS stations to deal with the requirements. He said the funding would help educate clerks about which documents may be accepted as proof of status. The appropriation is a nice measure, opponents agree, but they still have concerns that a clerk making slightly more than minimum wage will be able to recognize the documents, which, according to the DPS, number more than a dozen.

Inside Intelligence: When It's Insiders vs. Outsiders

Taken together, the Republican landslide in the 2010 general election and the noisy conservative opposition to Joe Straus' return as speaker injected new players and new dynamics in the insider game in the Austin political universe.

Shortly after the election, in the midst of all of the froth of the 2010 election and its aftermath, Texas Weekly and The Texas Tribune started mailing out their "Inside Intelligence" surveys to a list of political professionals and close observers of politics in the state, in an effort to generate some information about what these folks thought about current events, and to generate stories for both publications. Over the next few months, we kicked around the idea of including a few items from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll to see how the "insiders" compared to the statewide sample of self-identified registered voters we draw using random matched sampling.

We finally got around to trying this around the time of the most recent poll in May. While we were in the data collection phase of the UT/Trib poll, an Inside Intelligence survey included seven questions from the UT/Trib poll — five general assessment questions we use to get the mood of the state and a couple of more focused questions about immigration and drawing on the Rainy Day fund. The Inside Intelligence email invitation was sent to 489 addresses; 122 filled out the Survey Monkey questionnaire, and Ross Ramsey wrote his regular report about the results. Now, with the Legislature adjourned sine die, it seems like a good time to see what that exercise yielded.

Before we go much further, some caveats: this comparison, of course, has to be taken as a speculative exercise. I was and am a big fan of the idea of regularly checking in with the insider list. It is a rare chance to get information from the side of politics that rarely gets explicitly covered in day-to-day news coverage. The attitudes and knowledge of these people as a group on the list rarely see the light of day in either journalism or academic research. We have already accumulated an interesting body of responses.

But the survey is highly informal and not a statistical sample of any rigorously defined population. The Weekly and the Tribune are explicit about this. The list of participants is neither comprehensive nor a random sample of a carefully specified group — it's a provisional list of names, more or less, knowledgably assembled by a small group of people. Anything we claim about this group of insiders can't be said to be about much more than the specific group who responds in a given week; they can't be presented as representative of anything other than, well, themselves. The names of the respondents are published each week, though of course not matched to specific response. Readers can make reasonably informed judgments about the characteristics of the group and about the degree to which they may be taken as a provisional thermometer of the temperature of the capitol on any given week.

All the caveats established, the participants and close observers who responded to the Tribune's mid-May invitation reflected the concerns that preoccupied the Legislature in the final days of the 82nd regular session and the special session that followed. They diverged from the views of the sample of self-reported registered voters in the UT/Tribune poll in ways that seem to reflect, above all, their proximity to the day-to-day process. The insiders found a different set of issues most salient to them. Interestingly enough, given the enduring meme that the electorate is sick and fed up (if you'll excuse the phrase) with government, the insiders were both less approving and more intense in their disapproval of the job performance of the Governor and the Legislature than the UT/Trib poll's sample of registered voters. The insiders were much less concerned about immigration and border issues; and less admiring of the overall approach to state government in Texas.

Most Important Problems: "Border? What border? Pass a budget bill!"

When asked to choose the most important problem facing Texas, the "state budget shortfall" was the number one response among the insiders, followed by "education" and "the economy." The gap between the insiders and the UT/Tribune poll respondents was probably most pronounced in this area. Neither of the top two problems cited by the insiders were cited by nearly as many of the larger pool of potential Texas voters. The 25-point gap on the state budget and the 12-point gap on education seem most telling of the difference in focus between the insiders and average folks. (There is evidence, though, that education is rising in salience among voters: the numbers have been slowly rising in the UT/Tribune survey, and the recent Texas Lyceum poll of adult Texans also registered increased concern about education in the state.)

Perhaps the most significant perceptual gap in the two collections of responses about problems and issue facing the state exists in the areas of immigration and border security. Immigration and border security were the two most frequent responses in the UT/Tribune Poll (16 percent and 15 percent respectively), and have been among the most frequent responses since the survey's inception three years ago.

Most Important Problems Facing Texas: May 23, 2011 Inside Intelligence and May 2011 UT/Texas Tribune Poll
 
Selected ItemsInside IntelUT/Tribune Poll (rank)
State budget shortfall 33.3% 8%
Education 24.2% 12% (3)
The economy 14.2% 12% (3)
Political corruption/leadership 5.8% 8%
Unemployment/jobs 4.2% 10%
State government spending 2.5% 3%
Taxes 2.5% 1%
Water supply 2.5% 1%
Transportation/roads/traffic 2.5% 1%
Immigration 1.7% 16% (1)
Health care 1.7% 2%
Social welfare programs 1.7% 1%
Border security 0 15% (2)
Gas prices 0 8%
Note: Table excludes items with zero responses in both surveys, as well as 0 insiders paired with 1-2% responses in the UT poll. UT /Texas Tribune Poll responses are rounded; n=800, MOE +/- 3.46 percentage points. On all tables. The Inside Intelligence percentages are not rounded because the number of respondents is so low.

The group of insiders conveyed much less concern, to put it mildly, about immigration or (especially) border security as a problem, as the table illustrates. Only two of them chose "immigration" as the most important problem, and nobody chose border security.

A general item focused on immigration from the UT/Tribune poll that was put before the insider group also reveals marked differences in attitudes regarding immigration. The question asked, "On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?"

Is immigration a good thing or a bad thing?Inside IntelUT/Tribune Poll
Good thing 68.3% 42%
Bad thing 21.7% 44%
DK/skipped 11.6% 14%

The sample of Texans in the UT/Trib poll was evenly split on the item; the insider group was much more favorable in its judgment. There has, of course, been a great deal of attention to the failure of the anti-sanctuary city bill in the Legislature, and the failure of most of the stringent measures introduced that were meant to regulate illegal immigration to gain traction, despite plentiful rhetoric.

Leadership and Government: Faint Praise and Outright Damnation

Comparing the two groups of responses also reveals a generally grumpy assessment of state government by people who that work in close proximity to it. It is an article of faith among many political observers that the electorate is highly dissatisfied with government elites. While there is evidence of skepticism of government among the voters, the group who took the insider survey in May are right there with them — in fact, they were even less approving of the state's political leadership and with Texas state government overall.

Among the Inside Intelligence group, job approval for both Gov. Perry and the Legislature were lower overall and, when negative in their judgment, more intensely so. If the governor is preparing to position himself as readying to fight the insiders in a presidential campaign, there's a group of Texas insiders who already feel combative. The strong disapprovals of the Governor's job performance registered at 47 percent — 19 percent higher than in the UT/Trib poll.

Perry job approvalInside IntelUT/Tribune Poll
Approve strongly 13.2% 12%
Approve somewhat 19.8% 29%
Neither .8% 15%
Disapprove somewhat 19% 14%
Disapprove strongly 47.1% 28%
DK/skipped .8 3%

Disapproval of the Legislature's job performance was only slightly less negative overall, and only somewhat less intense (27 percent approve / 64 percent disapprove) compared to a broader public assessment that was hardly enthusiastic (35 percent approve / 38 percent disapprove), but can be fairly called ambivalent.

Legislature Job ApprovalInside IntelUT/Tribune Poll
Approve strongly 6.6% 7%
Approve somewhat 20.7% 28%
Neither 8.3% 22%
Disapprove somewhat 30.6% 18%
Disapprove strongly 33.1% 20%
DK/skipped 1.6% 5%

The contrast between the insiders and the broader population's attitudes toward government — call them the "familiarity breeds contempt" results — is also in evidence in responses to the item assessing general attitudes toward Texas government. Very few folks are particularly enthusiastic about state government in Texas being a model for other states, there has consistently been majority support for the statement in our surveys when we've asked the question. Even amidst the grinding gloom of the 82nd Legislature's final weeks in May, 52 percent agreed that state government in Texas was a good model for other states, and only 19 percent strongly disagreed.

Texas as a model for governmentInside IntelUT/Tribune Poll
Strongly agree 15.6% 15%
Somewhat agree 27.9% 37%
Somewhat disagree 26.2% 16%
Strongly disagree 29.5% 19%
DK/skipped .08% 13%

Those defined in part by their close view of how Texas state government works on a day-to-day basis were less likely to want to promote the model, and were more intense in their skepticism. While 44 percent agreed with Texas virtue as a model, of the 56 percent of the insiders disagreed, and 30 percent disagreed strongly. Familiarity not only bred a degree of contempt, it also dispelled ambiguity. While 13 percent of the UT/Trib sample either didn't know or skipped the questions, only one of the insiders skipped.

In the end, the insiders appear more ideologically moderate overall, though I would conjecture that they are better thought of as more pragmatic. The differences between the insiders and the UT/Trib poll sample maybe in part ideological, but it seems more likely that the differences reflect proximity to the process. The insiders were focused very much on the issues that took a tortuous path in the institutional processes at the Capitol, processes that were key to the success (and conclusion) of the session. Given how the process worked during the 82nd Legislature, it's not too surprising that the insiders waxed negative about the key players in that process and even the process itself.

These insiders may just be grumpy participants in an exceptionally cramped session, but we may come to see them as lead indicators of public opinion. In the coming months, we will see how Texans respond as the products of the sessions go into effect and begin to have direct effects on their lives.

The responses of their constituents seemed to be on the minds of some legislators during the final days of the special session. The temporarily successful amendment to put any extra Rainy Day money back into schools, and the sudden derailing of a critical fiscal bill in the House at almost the last possible moment, were examples of moments when legislators sensed peril back home. There's no guarantee what the political flavor of a backlash to the relentless focus on a Norquistian shrinking of the state's social obligations might look like. But since the budget problems have been deferred rather than addressed, it's safe to say that the party isn't over. Next time, there may be more than tea on the menu.

Jim Henson directs the Texas Politics project and teaches in the Department of Government at The University of Texas, and is one of the Tribune's pollsters.

 

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

It was a different Fourth of July holiday this year as most towns in Texas banned the use of fireworks. Record numbers of wildfires and continuing drought conditions convinced most authorities that the risk of a spark was too severe. Although some metropolitan areas like Dallas and Houston went ahead with their professionally run celebrations, most Texans faced fines if they set off any fireworks in their own backyards.

After reports circulated that families were being prevented from making religious references at veterans' funerals, hundreds of protesters showed up on Independence Day in Houston to express their disapproval. Nonprofit groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the director of the Houston National Cemetery, which they say banned them from using religious language at burials unless the text is submitted in advance for approval. VA officials disputed the claim, maintaining that veterans' families across the country are free to use any sacred language or ritual they choose.

Willie Nelson's not quite off the hook yet from his marijuana bust in November. Although the prosecutor in Hudspeth County offered a plea deal that Nelson agreed to and mailed in, the judge overseeing has case, Becky Dean-Walker, has rejected the agreement. Dean-Walker made a statement accusing the county attorney of giving preferential treatment to a celebrity. This isn't the first time she's accused him of working out a deal that is unacceptable to her. In the spring, news leaked that the prosecutor was offering a deal for Nelson to plead out, pay a small fine and sing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." The judge quickly quashed that idea.

The first court hearings on Texas' abortion sonogram law, which Gov. Rick Perry signed into law in May, took place Wednesday. The Center for Reproductive Rights is charging that the law is unconstitutional and sued in federal court to stop enforcement of the provision. The group also filed a request for an injunction against the requirement that doctors perform and describe an ultrasound to women seeking abortions. The sonogram law isn't the only legislative action under legal fire. At least 12 lawsuits have already been filed in response to the redistricting maps passed by lawmakers, and more are expected. Controversies abound related to the counting of prisoners, illegal immigrants and minority representation.

Texas once again finds itself in the national spotlight over its death chamber. Mexican national Humberto Leal Jr. was executed Thursday for the 1994 rape and murder of a San Antonio teenager. The Obama administration and international groups said the execution was done in violation of U.N.'s Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. That treaty guarantees consular representation to foreign nationals upon their arrest, which didn't happen in the case of Leal, who was subsequently sentenced to death. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected the argument by a 4-1 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay in the case, and prison officials went ahead with the scheduled execution.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has found a new weapon in her re-election effort: a letter from an anti-gay activist attacking her for her alleged homosexual agenda. Parker wrote her own solicitation letter and attached a copy of David Wilson's letter, claiming that he was attacking her solely because she is gay. During the 2009 mayoral campaign, Wilson tried a similar tactic, sending out thousands of fliers objecting to Parker's sexual orientation.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has found a new weapon in her re-election effort: a letter from an anti-gay activist attacking her for her alleged homosexual agenda. Parker wrote her own solicitation letter and attached a copy of David Wilson's letter, claiming that he was attacking her solely because she is gay. During the 2009 mayoral campaign, Wilson tried a similar tactic, sending out thousands of fliers objecting to Parker's sexual orientation.

As expected, the court martial of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has resulted in a capital case. The commander of Fort Hood has allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case against Hasan, consisting of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 of attempted premeditated murder. The trial is expected to take place in about a year.

Political People and their Moves

Andrew Card, a former White House chief of staff, was named acting dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Card is filling in for Ryan Crocker, who is serving as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, until Crocker returns.

Put Scott O'Grady in the hunt for the open HD-33 seat in Rockwall and Collin Counties. O'Grady, a Republican making his first run for office, first came to the public's attention when his F-16 was shot down over Bosnia in 1995 and he evaded capture for almost a week until the Marines got him out.

Comptroller Susan Combs created a new position — chief privacy officer — and hired Elizabeth Rogers to fill it. She also hired Jesse Rivera as the agency's chief information security officer. Rogers, a lawyer who once worked for the attorney general and for the State Bar of Texas, was most recently with Resources Global Professionals. Rivera comes from the University of Texas-Pan American, where he had the same title he's got at the comptroller's office.

Gov. Rick Perry named Richard Wendt III of Bellaire chairman of the Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists. Wendt is a licensed and board-certified medical nuclear physicist, and a professor of imaging physics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The governor also appointed:

Daniel "Eric" Kalenak of Midland as justice of the 11th Court of Appeals. Kalenak is first assistant Midland County district attorney, and a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.

• Four members to the Texas Bioenergy Policy Council. Bruce Bagelman of Dallas is founder and president of Green Spot Market and Fuels. Michael Doguet of Nome is president of Doguet Turf Farms and Doguet's Diamond D Ranch, and general manager of Doguet's Rice Milling Company. Michael Kerby Jr. of Houston is manager of Global Chemical Research at ExxonMobil Chemical Company. Jeffrey Trucksess of Austin is founder of Green Earth Fuels.

James Lee of Houston to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for a term to expire Aug. 31, 2011. Lee is president of JHL Capital Holdings.

Steven Thomas of Kountze as judge of the 356th Judicial District Court. Thomas is a partner at the Chambers, Templeton, Thomas and Brinkley Law Office.

James LaFavers of Amarillo and Michelle Skyrme of Longview to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. LaFavers is a self-employed private investigator. Skyrme is executive administrative assistant for the Gregg County Health Department, and a former adult probation case clerk for Gregg County Community Supervision and Corrections.

• Dr. Nizam Peerwani of Fort Worth chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. He's the chief medical examiner for Tarrant, Denton, Johnson and Parker counties. He'll replace Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, who couldn't win confirmation from the state Senate.

Barbara Cargill to chair the State Board of Education. She replaces Gail Lowe, who remains on the board but who, like Bradley, couldn't win Senate consent for that appointment.

Press corps moves: Robert Wood, long with the Texas State Network, is leaving radio, and reporting, to become the communications director with the Texas Association of Business.

Dr. Mike McKinney, the former chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, joined the Schlueter Group, an Austin-based lobbying firm.

Take Seth McKinney out of the HD-14 House race he said last week he'd be entering. He decided not to do it.

Quotes of the Week

I could raise $5 million, he'll spend 10; I'll raise 10, he'll spend 20. You can never get ahead of the guy.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to the Houston Chronicle on his hesitancy about running for a U.S. Senate seat against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

I think you're right that he's going to run.

Republican operative Karl Rove on Gov. Rick Perry's presidential ambition, quoted in The Hill.

He was so entrenched on getting me. ... That was causing them to not be willing to focus on anything in these negotiations other than me.

Plaintiffs lawyer and top Democratic lawyer Steve Mostyn on Gov. Rick Perry's involvement in the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association fight.

He certainly would stand out among other governors. But that's just sort of a given in Texas.

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, on Gov. Rick Perry's execution record.

Put simply, this is the wrong approach.

Randy Diehl, dean of the University of Texas' College of Liberal Arts, in a report on the "seven breakthrough solutions" for higher education promoted by Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Resisting reform and accountability is an unsustainable recipe for mediocrity and stagnation.

Gov. Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner in response.

Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the [Department of Transportation's] duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly.

Teamsters President Jim Hoffa, after learning that the U.S. and Mexico agreed on a cross-border trucking program that would allow Mexican and U.S. trucks to travel far into each other's territory.

It is lamentable that we see cases of this type in the justice system that involve innocent people, people who had drugs planted on them through no fault of their own.

Ciudad Juárez Mayor Héctor "Teto" Murguía, after learning of an FBI investigation into allegations that citizens of his border town were planting drugs in automobiles of unsuspecting travelers on their way north, in the El Paso Times.

It's not right simply because he [the prosecutor] doesn't do that for anybody else.

Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker on why she rejected the lenient $500 fine and plea deal prosecutors recommended for country music star Willie Nelson after his pot bust in West Texas last year, in the Associated Press.